politics, activism, art, philosophy

humanity

Matthew Carter and Mathias Blackheart ignored Isono’s declarations, as well as all the other duelists coming to watch the battle. They would duel at their own pace. Mathias timidly opened the first volley of the duel; words: “Perhaps you are angry about five years ago, when you wanted to be a Saint and I rejected you.”

Matthew shook his head in a casual way, which was surprising. “I am not. You beat me in a duel but told me, in essence, that I was selfish, petty, and lacked imagination. I was reactionary, a fatal flaw to you, and you know what? That’s fine. I understand how everything means so little.”

These remarks truly puzzled Mathias, but he knew better than to ask. He would find his answers in the duel. “Matthew, if you’re having an existential crises, do yourself a favor and pay a shrink to deal with your issues. You have more than enough money.”

“Touche, Blackheart.” Matthew stretched his ruined his right as a demon’s claw, his magic blocking out the sun and all the sweet island around with an oppressive black mist. The shadow game had begun.

Matthew: 8000 || Mathias: 8000

MATTHEW’S TURN: “I set a monster and two cards. A right timid opening; the student copies the master.”

MATHIAS’ TURN: “Very well. You gave me an opening, and I will use to full effect! I Normal Summon Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant, and use her Effect: I banish two Nordic Monsters to Special Summon 2 Einherjar Tokens. I tune them all to Synchro Summon ODIN, FATHER OF THE AESIR!” One Valkyrie – no, three – surprisingly sweet and mild, offer themselves to the father god. Finding the offerings to his liking, the lord of all Nordic monsters appears.

“Odin, destroy Matthew’s monster!” The god stretches his hand. He smites the hidden creature with ease. “I set a card.”

Before Mathias could say, “You’re move.” Or something like that, Matthew ended the turn for him, “I play Dragon Buffer!” Matthew’s Trap conjures 4 Buffer Tokens made of stone.

MATTHEW’S TURN: “Bringing it all out, I see. I want nothing less from the master. I want you to justify to me why you are a master who can reject prospecting students.”

“I am because I said so.” Mathias tersely rebukes the insolent young man. “Now SHUT UP and make your move! No one talks more than I do!”

“I will let my cards speak louder than you ever could. I link 2 Dragon Buffers to Link Summon Hieratic Seal of Celestial Spheres, and activate Polymerization, fusing the other 2 Dragon Buffers to Fusion Summon The First of the Dragons!” Two dragons appear; an ascendant trinity of spheres floating above and a primitive dragon yet to develop arms and legs crawls below.

“I banish the monster you destroyed; Janur, the Dark Dragon Held, to Special Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6!” A silver hawk-headed dragon with a hawks head, a smaller version of Mathias’ own spirit Ka, bursts from a torrent of flames below, screeching loudly to announce its coming. “But I have a gift for you, Mathias, you get 2 Dragon Shade Tokens on your field. Horus, destroy one of them!” Matthew’s dragon dissipates the shadow with its fiery breath as darkness vanquishes light. “I end my turn, and with it Horus LV6 evolves into Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!” The silver dragon bursts in flames, growing larger, its scales turning from silver to bronze-gold.

The whole event triggers a series of flashbacks within Maya. Matthew conjured Horus within their very first duel, and that’s how he beat her. Is he now trying to tell her a message? The Horus Deck Matthew used at the time was a secondary deck, a fun deck he took for a spin, but now he merged Horus into his real deck. Maya is impressed, not just by Matthew but from Maria, even from Weevil of all people. She has the challenge she wanted.

Mathias, meanwhile, is too stricken to make his move. Matthew grows impatient, demanding why, and Mathias answers, “As you know, we Saints are based in an Irish monastery, sworn to protect the world from evil. The Headmaster warned with a prophecy, that the Devil would reveal himself to us as a great red dragon, threatening to destroy the world. I know it sounds like a lame movie plot, but…”

Mathias breathed deeply and concentrated, letting his spirit Ka grow out of him. He throws all caution to the wind of how the people of the world will react when they see that ancient magic is real. Matthew reveals his own Ka, with even less care.

All of this pleases Matthew greatly. “No matter how this duel ends, you lose the game. If I win, the Devil destroys the world. If you win, well, you might be the Devil after all.” Mathias, the mighty Saint, is only human after all.

MATHIAS’ TURN: “Don’t get cocky, brat! If I am the Devil, you have Hell to pay!” Odin, strike down the Hieratic Spheres!” The Spheres shine from their pleasant yellow glow to a harsh white light; Matthew is using their Effect to try to bounce Odin. But Mathias has none of it. “I activate Breakthrough Skill, negating your Spheres!”

Mathias uses the object lesson to admonish Matthew, “This is why you cannot be a Saint. You got cocky, so you blundered, and suffered my wrath.”

Matthew revives himself with great strength and groaning, but is hardly deterred. Calmly, he explains, “As you know, Hieratic Spheres requires me to tribute a Hieratic monster, and that monster was Hieratic Dragon of Su. And as you know, when a Hieratic Dragon gets tributed, I Special Summon a Normal Dragon from my Deck. Appear now, Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon!” A new sphere appears in the air, but far larger, and as bright as the sun itself.

Mathias easily sees his upstart opponent’s ploy. “So you have a contingency plan. I’m genuinely impressed. You know what truly disappoints me, Matthew? It is your squandered potential; how you have the right intellect of a Saint but a perverse will. Do what you will. Gather your Materials to Summon your Golden God Dragon.”

MATTHEW’S TURN: “If you insist, old man. I overlay Horus LV8 and Hieratic Seal to Xyz Summon Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon and overlay it to Xyz Summon Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon!” His two large golden dragons give way to a new dragon as black as night, its wings so vast they cover the entire field. “And with its Summoning comes its Effect: I mill 3 Dragons from my Deck.” And Mathias banishes 3 monsters from his.

“Dark Matter Dragon, destroy Mathias’ pathetic Dragon Shade Token!” And the dark dragon easily absorbs such a tiny shadow into itself. “I set a card and end my turn.”

“I set a card and end my turn.”

MATHIAS’ TURN: “I set 1 card facedown.”

MATTHEW’S TURN: “Dark Matter Dragon, destroy Odin!” Matthew declares with an animals ferocity, letting all his hate and anguish boil to the surface.

“You asked for it!” Mathias shouts in defiance. The two huge beasts clash in a spectacular struggle, but only the dark dragon remains. Odin falls, its collapse nearly shattering the entire dueling arena.

Matthew’s plan gains momentum, and its author dare not stop it. “I activate Xyz Reborn, reviving Dark Matter Dragon!” Matthew’s monster reappears as a stylized ankh; it glows, then transforms back to its old self. “Attack Mathias directly with your greatest attack!” The dark dragon strikes Mathias down with a sphere of black lightening, throwing the Saint to the very edges of the field. (Mathias LP 8000 à 4000)

Mathias chuckles in amusement and spits blood from his mouth. “Looks like the prep school brat can pack a punch after all. I guess we’re now even.”

Matthew sets a card, ending his turn.

MATHIAS’ TURN: “I play Pot of Acquisitiveness, returning 3 banished monsters to my Deck and drawing a card. Next, Rainbow Return! I bring back 3 banished Nordic monsters to the field but I can’t attack this turn!” Matthew and the other finalists can see the vague form of a vast tree, the World Tree, behind Mathias, and a rainbow spiraling it, and through it the monsters Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar, Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts, and Mimir of the Nordic Ascendant return.

“I tune them all to Synchro Summon LOKI, LORD OF THE AESIR! I SUMMON THEE!” Lightning from high above destroys the three offerings, and the great trickster god is summoned.

Weevil blinks three times, remarking, “Mathias Summoned Loki before Thor? What alternate dimension are we living in?”

“I don’t care!” Rex grabs Weevil with all his strength, the two huddling together. “I’m scared!”

MATTHEW’S TURN: “Challenge accepted, prick. I activate Pre-Preparation of Rights, adding a Ritual Monster and Ritual Spell to my hand. And here they come: Hymn of Light; I Tribute a monster in my hand to Ritual Summon Saffira, Queen of Dragons!” A generic Hieratic monster appears, dissolves into white shards, and reorders itself into a graceful sapphire dragon. “I use her Effect to draw 2 cards, then discard 1. I next activate Monster Reborn, reviving my Hieratic Spheres!” The trinity of bright orbs takes to the sky once more.

“My Materials are all in place! I banish them all to Super Transcendent Dimension Summon my greatest servant; GOLDEN GOD DRAGON!” His monsters transform into four celestial rings: one violet, one blue, one black, and one dark blue. All align into one column, appearing from everyone’s point of view as four circles reflected from a point of light far above, each lower circle bigger than the one above it. The light flares, shooting through all rings, and the titanic gold dragon forms gradually, a higher dimension being slipping through the lowly third dimension.

Mathias says, “Super Transcendent Dimension Summon. Really?”

“Yes, I made it up because it was cool!” Matthew protests, his pride scorned. “Burn me at the stake, will you!”

“Sweet Irish Jesus, you are a pretentious twat.”

“Says the guy ignoring that black Jew witch over there!” Matthew points indignantly at Maya. “That woman is trying to be the next Beethoven, but with children’s card games!”

Maya shrugs the petulant insult off her shoulders without a care in the world. “A game can be a sport and an art. – You know, half and half. – This one tournament raked in five times the money the Super Bowl did. Not like I had the opportunity to refine my better talents, unlike someone I know.”

“You ruined your own life.” Maya quickly strikes back. “You had four years to recover after I beat you. When you beat me, I didn’t even have one day.”

“Believe me when I say this,” And Matthew swears under the sun. “Once I beat the Saint I will bury you, the Devil, next.”

“Guess your shit granddad should’ve named you Michael.” Maya’s remark throws Matthew into a terrible tantrum; the man curses the entire world, even his grandfather for daring to be his idol only to be broken.

Kaiba has enough, throwing a terrible tantrum of his own. “I don’t care who the Devil is! The Inquisition is over! Continue your witch trial after the duel!” He curses at Mathias in a low voice, “Goddamned Catholics.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Trying to curb the long sentences, but I still want to convey nuance of the characters, and I dislike block sentences. Let’s see how things work out now.

Duel 17 – Hollywood Sickness

Sophia and Yukio had taken the first flight back to New York as soon as the finalists had boarded Kaiba’s jet to that mysterious island to fight in the finals. Jolene had greeted them at as soon as they entered her apartment to stay for the night, showing sweet kisses on their faces, and had quickly joined them to watch the finals live on TV. Even JC had arrived, returning from Chicago to his home city and reuniting with old friends, to see the great event unfold before their eyes.

With the intense quarterfinals finished at this point, everyone took a break they sorely needed, even though they did not duel themselves, taking out Thai food and watching YouTube videos. Jolene set up her Google Plus, calling Maya with it…

Nothing came through to her phone on the other side. JC, grumpy as usual, gave a loud deep snort. Of course Kaiba and Pegasus wanted their finalists to be totally isolated! With no one to help them, they could only rely on themselves. Yukio agreed but added that the finalists would, through battle, alone, would mirror nothing less than each other’s hearts. Sophia added her own view; this is what Maya wanted. Such a contest was bound to happen sooner or later.

JC slapped Yukio in the back, scoffing: “That’s weird!” He pointed at Sophia, almost hitting her nose with his finger. “You’re weird! You’re all weird, like Saiyans from Dragonball Z! You have a death wish where you push yourself to your limits and die trying, don’t you?”

“Hey, I thought that was what you wanted.” Yukio said with a twinkle in his eye. “You ranted on the Internet four years ago how about how you wanted to die young in a ball of glory, fully aware that you were dying, instead of dying in sleep an old man. A lot has changed in four years.”

Jolene took advantage of the opportunity to eat all the Thai food she could, but Sophia endeavored to do the same, and they scrapped each other with chopsticks.

Jolene remarked: “Jeez! This little thing bites after all!”

“I’m taller than you.” Sophia reminded her.

“By one inch!” said Jolene.

JC and Yukio gave each other knowing glances, enjoying the show but wishing more. The only thing better than a catfight was a naked catfight, and our young men were very happy inside.

But Jolene had a very different idea, pulling out a deck of tarot cards, setting five of them in a diamond shape, the fifth card as the center. JC and Yukio balked at her; JC screeching how dumb and gay and stupid and fat and gay and irrational were New Age things like tarot cards; Yukio snidely commenting how Jolene needed to stop rubbing crystal balls and start rubbing other balls instead, if you what I mean.

Maya would have used a booster pack of random Yugioh cards to predict a mundane and ridiculous event that was bound to happen; like Jolene would shit her bowels out after eating too many chili dogs in a party with friends after Maya returned. In fact, she actually did that four years ago. Jolene scoffed at the idea; eating chili dogs was a vice JC indulged in, not she.

Sophia, however, was tolerant, and said nothing.

Jolene flipped the first card, representing the past: “The Devil; we have been enchained to our base desires, our lusts, our materialism; in the throws of the depths of the unconscious.” She flipped the second card, representing the present. “The Thunderstruck Tower reversed; the impact of sudden, groundbreaking change, is not as severe as we fear and is avoidable, or we are trying out hardest to prevent change, unwilling to let go of what we are used to.” And the last card, the future: “The Fool reversed; recklessness, poor timing, naivety, fear of taking risks and settling for the mundane… None of this makes any sense.”

Yukio waxed philosophical, “What is human life but a gant clusterfuck where we attempt to find meaning when there is none.”

“I told you tarot cards were dumb and gay and stupid and fat and gay and irrational.” JC grunted, and he proceeded to convert Jolene to extreme atheism; not that gay mealy-mouthed agnostic shit, real atheism. “Have you ever heard of Christopher Hitchens, our Lord and Savior?”

“I heard he is a fat drunk.” Jolene said, infuriating JC to argue with her. Yukio jumped to her defense and took up the lively mockery of a debate in her. He was no longer her boyfriend but still sometimes acted like one.

Sophia looked in the mirror in boredom, but what she saw caught her eye. The tarot cards seemed to make sense now; the Fool for the past, the Thunderstruck Tower for the present, the Devil reversed for the future, and behind them all lay a small globe of the earth.

————————————————————–

Maya searched the whole island for Stella but in vain, checking the steps of the pyramid, the sandy road to the large cabin, including each room inside. Stella was nowhere to be found.

Maya noticed how the paintings of each bedroom for each finalist vaguely reflected the inner natures of their tenants: Matthew’s room crowned with gold pyramids and obelisks; Hannibal’s room adorned with wistful Greek ruins; Weevil’s room like a diorama from the American Museum of Natural History; Mathias’ room a pale copy of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment; Tamas’ room left blank; Stella’s room surrounded by a prelapsarian herd of unicorns; Maria’s room shining with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon under the moon; and Maya’s own room blazing with a Blake-inspired sun above and a simple wooden desk below.

But none of these rooms held Stella within them, so Maya continued her search, finding Stella sitting on the beach wistfully gazing at the waves ahead of her, her eyes unfocused. Maya said, “Stella, you will face me in the semifinals. You can’t run away from me anymore. Let’s talk.”

Stella spoke in a voice so low it was almost a whisper. “Odd. Now you want to talk things out instead of avoiding any intimacy between us.”

“If we don’t resolve it now we will resolve it in our duel.”

“No, Maya, dueling can’t resolve this problem. Nothing can heal my heart from what you did to me.”

Maya got utterly exasperated at this point. “Can you please explain to me why our past relationship weighs so heavily on your shoulders, and why you decided until now of all times to bring it up. I never hit you. I never cheated on you. I never spent your money. I never spoke ill of you to others. Stop acting like a typical movie girlfriend; it is unbecoming of your character. Don’t be coy with me.”

“Wow, talk about internalized misogyny.” Stella remarked.

“Shallow Hollywood directors and dogmatic feminists have internalized misogyny, not me.” Maya snapped at her. “What I do despise is people acting along such stereotypes instead of killing them with extreme prejudice, such as you are doing right now.”

By this point Stella stood on her feet, brushing the sand from her jeans, and contested Maya, face to face. “Yes, you quit your libertine habits, all for me, and I am grateful for it. You were a fine partner, but only with basic human decency that everyone should have. When I got to know you better it made sense; no one had ever shown you basic human decency when you were growing up, so naturally you assumed such decency was an extraordinary kindness.

“I learned who you truly were. You became so cold with me, never giving me the kind words or thoughtful gifts you used to do. You became so distant, no longer sharing your thoughts with me, even in bed. You became such a bitter misanthrope, always complained about how terrible everyone was and how hopeless we all were.”

Did Maya not have to remind Stella again? She refuted her, “I told you I was getting sober, figuratively from Hollywood sickness and literally from drink. You don’t understand; I grew up in a project building with no future other than becoming a bank teller, a cop, or going into the military. – I made tomato sauce for spaghetti with ketchup I stole from McDonald’s, eating such a meal with my father at least fifty times. – ‘Following my dreams’ of becoming a great writer and musician was never an option. Dueling was a miracle from God; do you know what it is like to suddenly get so much wealth and power, how such a sudden change is like to a former nobody like me?”

Stella did not give up reaching to her former lover, she said, “I know, but when you got sober, so to speak, I saw you behind the mask. – Are you even aware how often you put it on? – Yes, you are fierce, witty, lively, driven to succeed, but underneath you are a peevish, melancholic, and pathetic woman. No amount of success and dominance, not even becoming world champion, will make you happy.

“Before you tell me how you only want to win to pay off your debts or whatever excuse; baloney, you’re doing it to conquer the world and prove a point. I don’t know what your point is – I don’t even think you know what exactly is – but it’s not for money. There is no way someone like Bandit Keith could make Yugioh equal to chess or into a kind of art as you did.”

Maya cast her head down, looking at Stella’s shoes, the sand between them, the shadows behind them. “You fell in love with me. You thought you knew me. Now you know me.”

“I worry most of all about you.” Stella touched Maya’s cheek, trying to reach her, but Maya dared not be anything but stone. “What more will you want after this tournament, and what desperate horrible things will you do afterward to get it? I must be honest; seeing you become world champion would be like Hitler winning World War II.”

Maya said, “Oh, you shouldn’t have. I never thought I’d have that much influence.”

Maya and Maria truly did not like each other but at least they did each other the courtesy of shaking the other’s hand before starting their duel. “I remember the kindness you showed me last year, hence why I saved you from Seeker when the tournament began.” Maya told her rival in good honor, yet still enjoying a small amount of her mischief at causing Maria slight embarrassment. “But I don’t spare anyone from a barb or two.”

Maria looked down on Maya as usual, condescending to remind her that she promised to be serious. But Maya replied in turn, “I’m always serious, and when I joke often I’m deadly serious. You still don’t know how humor works, not that you had the chance to learn much.” Maya glanced at Kaiba long enough for Maria to get the hint.

“No, let’s not. Why do you want to win this tournament?” Maya paused to let the shocking effect of her words sink in, that someone would be crazy enough to not play a children’s card game at the drop of a hat.

“I want to become the Duel Queen!” Maria affirmed with sternness, yet with a small hesitation. “You must build a tower from the corpses of the vanquished to grasp glory from the heavens!”

“No, Xerox Maiden with Eyes of Blue. That’s Kaiba’s answer, as vapid as a blimp and as subtle as a cold brick. I want your answer. Forget Kaiba is here. Pretend only you and your disdain for me exist and answer: why do you want to win?”

Maria’s entire face stiffened from cold to freezing, answering coolly, “That is not your business nor will it ever be. You dare insult the person who saved your life.”

“I saved yours, goldfish, the debt is repaid.” Maya reminded her. “As much as I hate you, Maria Wight, I do like you. You have a reserve, dignity, elegance, effortless grace I want but can never have, but those qualities aren’t enough for a woman; I told Sophia the same thing. Long ago, before the creation of our universe, the Author created a Kisara 2.0 as the main character, a woman with strong qualities but a wight nonetheless. Don’t be like her. Don’t live and die for an unworthy man.”

“You talk like you can influence the will of God.” Maria said.

“Perhaps because I am the Devil.” Maya answered.

“Then you are deluded, as well as proud and blasphemous.” Maria let her duel disk sing colors of blue and white, preparing the ground for their battle. “No more small talk.”

“But games are small talk.” Maya gave her bon mot as her own duel disk readied for their fight. “There is nothing wrong with that.”

Maria: 8000 || Maya: 8000

MARIA’S TURN: “Play time is over. I Normal Summon Maiden With Eyes of Blue and set a card. I end my turn.” Maria seems to have cloned herself as girl of long silver hair takes her place beside the duelist, both hardly different.

MAYA’S TURN: “Wait, are you running a Blue-Eyes Deck? How?” But Maya soon finds the answer to her own question. “Kaiba let you use his data, didn’t he?” And when Maria gives a twinkle of a smile, Maya scoffs. “And people keep telling me blue-eyes white privilege is a lie.”

“Maya, you don’t have what it takes to get privileges.”

Maya pretends not to hear her; she says, “Sorry, I can’t hear you from your high horse up there.”

“I’m not high, you’re just so low.” Maria retorts.

“As low as Hell itself.” Maya let a dangerous light flare in her eyes. “I Normal Summon Tour Guide From the Underworld, using its effect to Special Summon Graffiacane, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, and overlay them to Xyz Summon Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss!” A sprightly coquette train conductor in a tight black outfit arrives with her train on station, bringing with her a fiend with coarse fur and a barbarous snout, before merging together in the overlay network to bring out Dante, the fantastically reimagined medieval warrior poet.

“I use Dante’s effect to mill three cards and give it 1500 ATK; now the Graffiacane I detached and Ciriatto, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss I milled activate in the Graveyard: I Special Summon Cagnazzo, Malebranch of the Burning Abyss from the Deck and Graff from the Graveyard. Now, my fiends, attack Kisara 3.0.”

Dante raises his sword to slay the sacred virgin as if she was the idol of an infidel, but Maria saves her by using her effect. The maiden clasps Dante’s sword, and with an elvish chant of sorts brings out Blue-Eyes White Dragon from Maria’s Deck. That was before Maya resumed her savage attack, her demons tearing the maiden apart as if they were a wild boar and hound.

Maya ends her turn: “I set two cards and activate Scarmiglione, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from my Graveyard, letting me search for another Burning Abyss monster.”

Mathias Blackheart, carefully watching the duel from a safe distance, cannot help but appreciate Maya’s theme. He had always loved the great Dante’s works for his entire life and seeing the Malebranche work as a team refreshed his immortal soul – he had not seen anyone use the Burning Abyss archetype in a long time – but he soon felt a twinge of fear; if his ally used devils to attack an angel, where did his immortal soul stand? Maya would ridicule the idea, no doubt, but his worry did not die.

MARIA’S TURN: “I can’t tell you how deeply you disappoint me, Maya,” Maria condemns her. “I expected something more from your ‘top super secret strategy’, not run-of-the-mill Burning Abyss. Like Andy Warhol, all edge, no substance. And like Kaiba, all bluster only to get worfed.”

Even Mathias agrees with her, remarking to Maya, “You don’t look like a cock tease but you gave me the bluest balls in literally a hundred years.”

Those words trigger something ferocious in Maya, igniting her into a gleeful cackle so shrill and cold it made Pegasus’ blood run cold, lit Kaiba’s eyes with a shade of fear, and raised the back hairs of Matthew’s head. Pegasus and Kaiba could have sworn they heard Bakura’s voice; yes, that voice of the most obscure yet most dangerous of great duelists.

Maya sometimes broke into eccentric laughter over some obscure private thought she enjoyed all to herself, and this was no different. “So Maria does have some wit in her. I thought her soul, as an angel’s, was too pure to house the sorrows that bring laughter into the world. My evil charms must be working. Tell me, how does it feel to be human?”

Matthew comments bitterly, “If anything, Xiaoyi’s charms must be working. I’ve had enough of parables and riddles for one lifetime, and I swear on my grandfather’s grave I will kill every pretentious moron on this planet!”

Maria ignores Matthew too. “I play The Melody of Awakening Dragon, discarding a card and adding two Blue-Eyes monsters to my hand. Next, Pre-preparation of Rights. Adding a Ritual Spell and Ritual Monster to my hand. I reveal a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to Special Summon Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon and Dragon Spirit of White, and use their effects to pop Dante and her facedown card.” A greater version of the classic white dragon pokes its head from a magic portal, vaporizing Dante with a burst of its electric breath before fully summoning into view, while a smaller waifish white dragon burns away Maya’s trap…

That is, after Maya triggers it. “I play Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss! I destroy Cagna and Cir to destroy your dragons and your facedown card!” And in a flash of white lightning from Maria and a storm of red flames from Maya, the field is made into a barren desert. Only Maria’s classic Blue-Eyes White Dragon remains. Maya activates her Dante, returning Graff from her Graveyard to her hand, Cagna, milling a Burning Abyss Spell Card, and Cir, reviving Scarm from the Graveyard.

Disappointed even more, Maya proceeds to summon one of her greatest monsters. “I play Return of the Dragon Lords to revive Blue-Eyes White Dragon, then activate Chaos Form to summon my ultimate beast! Light transforming into darkness, rising from the depths of chaos, forging the path to victory, come forth…!”

Maya cuts her off. “Stop your chanting right there! I play Hand Destruction!” Maya’s brief actions stops her rival in her tracks, giving her an opening to throw another verbal dart. “Chanting for an ace monster, really? And I thought I was pretentious. Now, we discard two cards and draw two; that includes your cancer Ritual Monster.”

“Well that came out of left field.” Mathias admits that even he did not see that coming.

Kaiba had boiled in rage from Maya’s irreverence throughout the duel and he can control it no longer. “How dare you call my great dragons cancer!”

But this aggression does not deter Maya in the least from firing shots back. “But they are cancer, Mr. Aneurism. They’re part of the power creep that is slowly killing Yugioh, majestic wings and grandiose ATK points aside.”

“That power creep allowed you to get ahead in Yugioh, you impudent hypocrite. A third rate duelist such as yourself should be at least thankful.”

“I promise I’ll send you a gift card as thanks, preferably from a small independent business. Now fold your hand, Maria, your poker face is slipping.”

Maria solemnly discards her hand. “That was a clever way of stopping a Ritual Summon. The only way I can overcome such a tactic is by lucking out.” She draws her new hand, including all the required cards. “And lucked out I did. I Ritual Summon Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!” The bright June sky darkens into thunder and lightning as the shadow counterpart of the blue-eyed dragon comes forth.

“Oh, Fishstyx! Destiny is cruel.” Maya admits. “But there is danger in taking things at surface value. I activate Blaze Accelerator Reload from my Graveyard; I banish it to mill a Volcanic Scattershot, then use it’s effect!” Maya mills two more Scattershots, allowing all three to rise from the dead to wipe Maria’s entire army.

Maria counters Maya’s strategy with her own. “I banish my Return of the Dragon Lords Spell to protect all my dragons!” And true to her word, her army is saved from Maya’s wrath, but not Maria herself; the tsunami of fire crashes into her with a terrifying fury. (Maria LP 8000 à 6500)

But Maya has more tricks in her sleeve. “I activate Farfarello, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, the other card I discarded, to banish your Chaos MAX Dragon!” Her tricky goblin leaps from the netherworld, clasping unto the mighty dragon so much larger than itself, but still makes it disappear.

“But I still have the classic Blue-Eyes; now destroy Scarm! Burst Stream of Destruction!” And Maya’s wretched fiend sees a quick end, through it’s trouble-making days are far from over.

“I end my turn.” Maria finishes. “But my army increases. I discarded two White Stone of Ancients this turn, letting me Special Summon a third Blue-Eyes White Dragon and a second Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon from my Deck!” By this time Maria’s field is full of dragons.

All Maya can do is use her measly Scarm again to search for another Burning Abyss monster, and though she betrays a smarmy attitude of breezy insolence she is truly afraid – or was it anxiousness? No. Excitement? No. It was apprehension.

Maya sometimes thinks of herself as an opposite, or more accurately a shadow compliment to Yugi. Both are eccentrics who come from obscure backgrounds; both have troubled pasts though Maya bullied while Yugi was bullied; both came, as Mathias said, out of left field to take the gaming world by storm; both are tricksters and cunning strategists, both have vast hidden depths beneath misleading appearances, Yugi appearing meek and mild, gentle as a child, Maya appearing sullen, witty, and impulsive. Maya was even born on the opposite of Yugi’s zodiac sign or some other stupid shit Jolene would say when shopping at Namaste.

And now, like Yugi did thirteen odd years ago, she too faces the most iconic and dangerous dragons in the entire game, with a small chance of survival. Yes, she can dodge such cumbersome beasts with skill, but you can run away an avalanche or trick a giant for only so long. Maria truly is a shadow compliment to Kaiba, and a fine one at that; she never denied her skill

But now, practice time is over. Through her wit, her barbs, her teasing, Maya had tested the waters of the engagement, as she always does, and in this manner found the weaknesses in her opponent to exploit. Maya can no longer hold any secrets; she has to bring out the big guns.

Mathias, watching the epic duel from the sidelines, is so shocked and puzzled by Hannibal’s hesitation he clasps his jaw with his hand, glancing around the arena to make sure he is not hallucinating the event, seeing everyone is as shocked as he is. “Why did not Hannibal pummel him! He is one turn away from killing Matthew in his own Shadow Game!” He rages to himself, the voice in his head so loud he believes for a brief moment everyone can hear him. Then he realizes Hannibal is only human and no normal person can easily take a life.

Mathias clasps the Philosopher’s Stone on his chest; a glowing crystal in small gold cage, made from the very leftover gold used to create the Millennium Items. His stone gave him and Maximus a life far longer than human, the Headmaster of their great monastery in Ireland prolonged their lives to prepare all Christendom for the End Times. Mathias chastises himself for his lack of mercy and remorse, and with that he doubts his goodness again. Was he the Red Dragon the Headmaster prophesized?

Hannibal withdraws his fist, refraining from striking Matthew with a crippling blow, and reaches out to him one last time. “Matthew, ask yourself; would your grandfather kill for revenge? He would be so ashamed and sad, to see his great grandson, so intelligent, talented, and tasteful, throw away all his potential. And all your terror and murder for what; to get back at people not worth the trouble for losing a card game? You know you’re better than this.

“I do not speak to you as a teacher but as another flawed man. I remember the day I realized the error of my ways and changed. I was married to Indira, a beautiful noble woman, an Indian princess, no an Indian goddess of all virtues you used to have, but one day One day I failed to worship her, this Eternal Feminine.” Every female finalist groans at the hearing of such praise, but Hannibal fails to hear them. “I met a girl online, more comely than my dear Indira but nowhere near as beautiful or intelligent, but I pursued her, and Indira divorced me when she found out. Ever since then I embraced a different life, a life of stoicism and reflection, but never has a day gone by without me doing good deeds in penance. Matthew, it is never too late to repent and return to a nobleman’s life of virtue.”

“Elitism and classism much.” Stella remarks from the sidelines with a snark.

Maya is about to respond but Kaiba chortles in her place. “He’s a stoic. Of course he acts like Caesar while pretending to be humble, as if anyone cares about the moral drama in his life.” Maya might as well have said it.

Matthew listened to everything his former mentor said – truly he did, he paid attention sincerely – shaking his head and laughing sadly, unable to take anything Hannibal said seriously anymore. He has to tell the truth. “Old man, you never knew my grandfather. He had connections to the Ghouls for over a decade, and he profited from their rackets, not only their usual extortions but also from the antiques black market. He was not a good person. No ‘nobleman’ is. I told you, as an insider, the owners of the world use morals as a one-way street. Sorry.” And he means it.

Hannibal drops the card in his hand, devastated.

“God is a cruel satirist; He truly works in mysterious ways.” Maya comments, noticing Mathias listening to her as if he just realized something. “Listen, Hannibal. Stop pretending to be selfless. Your philosophical garbage is all about you; you’re self-blame and life of penance is the sick pleasure you get from self-pity and your preening self-aggrandizement. You cheated on your wife, big deal. Every other man and woman was once a cuckold, me too.

“If you want Matthew or me for that matter to live in penance and self-denial, you can forget it; an utterly useless and stupid way to live. You won’t revive the dead, nor mend you’re wife’s broken heart, nor stop you from hitting on naïve college girls in the future. Your massive guilt, especially the kind of guilt you have, will just corrode you and bore everyone else. Your God will not tell me how to live my life. I have no sympathy or pity for you. You can lose this Shadow Game and die for all care. I never thought I would cheer for Matthew in my entire life but I do now. I would laugh at this sad joke but it is too pathetic.”

HANNIBAL’S TURN: The old man thrusts his fist at Matthew again. “No! Your grandfather was not an evil man! You will pay for his crimes and yours! Exodia, smash Decode Talker!” The Forbidden One grinds Matthew’s monster with its massive fist. (Matthew LP 2900 à 200) The strike sends shocks into Matthew’s body, nearly making him fall over. “My turn ends, so I return an Exodia piece to my hand.” Hannibal concludes.

“This duel is done.” Kaiba snorts, turning around to leave, his white trench coat billowing behind him as always. Matthew’s Ultimaya Tzolkin tactic was well established long before the finals began, and even that didn’t same him. He added nothing new to the game.

Pegasus playfully wags his finger at his old friend. “You shouldn’t leave the duel until the last card is played, Kaiba-boy. Who knows what may happen next!” His advice received the usual ungrateful barb.

MATTHEW’S TURN: Sometimes a duelist knows when he draws a powerful card, and this is such a moment; Matthew knows he will end the duel in total victory! He just knows! “I draw, and I activate Dragon’s Mirror! I banish 5 Dragons in my Graveyard to Summon Five God Dragon!” A huge mirror appears behind him, and as five ghosts go inside it a dragon of godlike powers; of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Dark, smashes through the other side of the looking glass. “Now, Return From the Different Dimension!” Matthew pays half his Life and every dragon he banished comes back. (Matthew LP 200 à 100)

“Now, old man, you will see God! I banish 4 of my Dragons; Five God Dragon, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon, Proxy Dragon, to summon from my Extra Deck GOLDEN GOD DRAGON!!!” Matthew’s dragons fly to the heavens, vanishing into the gathering thunderstorm. Lightning strikes the field, the god thunders down from a higher plain to manifest in earth below; a huge dragon of six wings, covered in a near infinite amount of golden scales.

Kaiba turns around in surprise, with everyone else gasping stupidly at the splendorous beast in play. Weevil and Rex huddle together as lambs, trembling in terror. Maya saw something in each of the dragon’s scales and, squinting hard enough, found that each scale was inscribed with three words: Thou shalt not! A godly monster indeed.

Hannibal drops his duel disk on the ground. “Seize you’re win, Matthew. You earned it. I was wrong about your grandfather but I’m not wrong about you. I know that deep down you are a good person.”

Matthew is unmoved. “Golden God Dragon, destroy the old man! Make this duel my game!” His dragon rises a hundreds of meters into the air and crashes down on Hannibal in a vortex of fire. The mighty Exodia resists but is soon consumed by the flames. Hannibal feels nothing but the most terrible pain in his entire life, with every nerve burning as if in Hell, but he makes not one sound. Matthew’s dragon rises to the sky, returning to the higher dimension where it came, and Hannibal, burned and broken, drops.

Matthew: 100 | Hannibal: 0

All the darkness from Matthew’s evil magic floated away, leaving the bright afternoon sun to shine clearly, as if nothing happened.

Mathias, Stella, and Mokuba rushed to help the fallen duelist. Rex and Weevil still tremble in fright. Maya, Maria, and everyone else remained still, as if not knowing what to do. Mathias desperately pleaded to Hannibal to wake up, shook him, slapped him, pushed his chest and breathed into his mouth, but all in vain. Hannibal was gone. Stella hugged Mathias as he wept.

Kaiba left, this time for good, but grumbled, “First we had the Sacred Beasts to match the God Cards, then the Wicked Gods, then the Dragon Gods, then Golden God Dragon.” His one-time God Card, Obelisk the Tormentor, was no longer special. “Come with me, Mokuba.” He ordered, and Mokuba obeyed.

Pegasus shrugged. “An excellent duel, certainly legendary, it satisfies my connoisseur taste, but I must be going, for half an hour at least. Until next time. And Isono,” he addressed Kaiba’s referee. “Remove the corpse.” The finalists were fighting dogs or race horses for all he cared. The plebs weren’t people.

Maya seemed dazed for she replied as if talking to herself, “Hannibal was right about Matthew. He is a good person deep down but went the wrong way. He seemed so friendly when we just dueled, before I saw he condescended me, but I think I briefly saw the true man, even if just a second. But I’m not a good person. I could have grown up in a whole family, with my mom alive, my dad kind, and our money intact. But no good upbringing will change who I am. The tournament revealed to me my birthright.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I really like the creative games in Yugioh YouTube channels like TheRarely’s and the strong games in Yugioh: Dark Side of Dimensions. I intend to make my games somewhere in between where characters use creative decks not limited to one archetype or combo but play efficient moves to not make the duels too tedious. A player should interact more with their opponents when they play. Way too many games you see players making a giant setup to make an OTK. That’s boring and I don’t want that in my duels unless in the middle or endgame.

Duel 4 – Ignition!!!

Mathias could not sleep this morning, his mind under the hardest pressure, the need to stop the Headmaster’s doomsday prophecy from coming true was first in his mind. Matthew was the Satanic Red Dragon, he knew it – or did he? – if he lost to Matthew the world would be doomed but if he defeated the young man… would that make him the true Red Dragon? His powerful Ka, Horus the Black Flame Dragon, did not help matters. He was not under this much pressure in his entire immortal life since World War II.

So Mathias decided to play a little game to calm his mind, and so he peeked into every lodging to see exactly what everyone else was up to: Maximus, Maria, Stella, Tamas, Rex, and Weevil were fast asleep in their bed, Maya and Matthew were missing. And he found Hannibal in the dining room. Mathias said hello to his comrade and Hannibal returned the gesture, then asked what was bothering him.

Mathias told him everything about the Headmaster’s prophecy, slightly relieved to talk to someone, and then let Hannibal speak out of courtesy. Hannibal told him the awful truths burdening him, speaking, “I know all about the prophecy; Maximus told me long ago, but my concern is more personal. I knew Matthew’s grandfather very well; he was a kind, wise, profound man, and I even privately taught Matthew about everything; archaeology, anthropology, history, art, culture, and so forth. Now that I see his moral decline, his dark powers, the threat he poses to everyone, I may need to kill him. No, I must kill him! It is my moral duty to prevent suffering in this world! But, what if it’s wrong? What if I overstepped into excess; from courage into rashness, from justice to dogma?”

“Whether the prophecy is true or not Matthew used dark magic for malice and he must be dealt with in a shadow game.” Mathias assured his friend. “I also worry about his rival.” And when Hannibal asked why, Mathias answered, “She too has a powerful and dangerous dragon Ka, she utterly defeated Matthew a long time ago, and in doing so caused his mental collapse and moral decline. She is the source of his rage and his ambition, which is how he grew into such a powerful thread as a duelist and a wielder of shadow magic.”

Hannibal prayed, “May God help us find the right path in the middle of the thorny woods.”

Meanwhile Maya enjoyed the breezy midnight beach outside, listening to the soothing waves, moving towards and away, towards and away… every star was in view on this remote island, opening the full cosmos to her. She climbed up the steep pyramid, keeping the Book of Isis in a bag close by her to keep it safe, and found Matthew on top of the pyramid. Her arrival prompted him to gaze away from the waves below and stars above, staring at her coldly, hate in his eyes; her blood froze.

He said, “What are you doing here? Wait until we duel, then tell me you’re sorry and beg for mercy.”

Maya retorted instantly, “I will never say sorry or beg you for mercy. I will fight you to the death, show you as much mercy as you showed to other people, but I do sometimes wonder if our fates could have been different. You and I had many chances to choose a different path; when I lost to you in the academy tryouts, when JC betrayed our team for prophet, even when we dueled again, but we persisted, not knowing what we were doing. And here we are, ready to kill each other. This is how our rivalry will end; we decided so.”

Matthew: “You don’t believe in Fate do you or other such magical nonsense women love?”

And Maya: “No, but I believe in the power we have in our choices in life, and how we must always be strong and accept the consequences. I didn’t care when I was teenager, I just wanted to shake things up and piss people like you off, but now I understand better. Killing Heishin taught me that. I am prepared to kill you as well and accept the results.”

And Matthew: “Oh, how responsible. Our little afro punk grew up to be a serious thinker. Congratulations.”

And Maya: “I can’t say the same about you. You just want to kill me no matter what. Tell me, what future do you have even if you defeat me?”

“None of that matters. You will one day realize that too.” Matthew said with finality.

Hours passed in silence, day broke, Kaiba and Pegasus made their way up the pyramid to its top, followed by every other finalist. Pegasus notice his two remaining finalists, “What, no breakfast? One shouldn’t duel on an empty stomach! If I may do the honors.” He handed each finalist one Millennium Item Card, just like the ones they had been collecting for the entire tournament; Mathias got the Millennium Puzzle, Tamas got the Millennium Eye, Stella got the Millennium Rod, Maria got the Millennium Scales, Hannibal got the Millennium Scales, Weevil got the Millennium Key, Hannibal got the Millennium Necklace, Matthew got the Millennium Cube, a secret eight Item, and Maya got the Millennium Ring.

“Now hold your cards to the sun!” Kaiba barked at them. “Each card casts a golden shadow only during a certain time of day; this is how we determine who duels!” The finalists did as they were told, the sun revealed who was to duel; Matthew’s and Hannibal’s cards cast golden shadows. Suddenly a golden platform rose beneath them, the capstone of the pyramid where the finalists would duel, and four cameras rose from the sides of the pyramid’s top to record each duel in 3D. “Now take your positions!” Kaiba ordered.

Hannibal confronted his former student, “Matthew, I beg you, please cease your revenge, it only causes destruction and misery. Think of your honor, of your grandfather; what would he say to you if he knew of all you had done?”

Matthew growled, “Shut up you naïve fool. You know nothing of my grandfather.” He sprung his new duel disk to life; lighting blue from his wrist to his shoulder, a device on his head began reading his brainwaves. A holographic deck appeared in his duel disk, Matthew drawing five cards. Hannibal did the same.

Matthew: 8000 || Hannibal: 8000

MATTHEW’S TURN: “I Summon Celeste Dragon!” Matthew’s holographic card vanishes, reforms on the field in a larger form, and vanishes again but in light as a transparent dragon made of tiny stars emerges from it. “I set 3 cards facedown. This will do.

HANNIBAL’S TURN: “Perhaps I should knock some sense into you. I Summon Traptrix Mymeleo!” Hannibal’s card vanishes and a young female magician and her pet plant take to the field together. He sets 4 cards facedown, ending his turn. “Every duelist who attacks me makes a fatal mistake. I have the high ground. Turn end.”

Hannibal sees everything coming at him. “I play Artifact Sanctum, summoning Artifact Beagalltach from my Deck, then using his power to destroy two of my facedown cards.” A huge broadsword appears, then manifests a spirit of itself so it can be used, to slice apart Hannibal’s cards. “I activate Artifact Moralltach and Artifact Scythe; I Summon them and use their other effects. A large sword and scythe rise from the Graveyard. “Moralltach, destroy Matthew’s Dragon an Scythe, paralyze his Extra Deck!” Moralltach decimates Celeste Dragon into stardust while Scythe binds its target with a dark spell.

Matthew is not amused, “Cute, but I mill Carboneddon to revive Celeste Dragon.” His creature reforms but with its battling power halved. “And I play my Trap; Dragonic Desperation!” Letting two more Celeste Dragons to appear.

Hannibal is once more prepared, “That is none of your business for now, but my Trap is: Bottomless Trap Hole!” And all of Matthew’s monsters vanish into a void.

Cringing in disappointment, Matthew plays a new card, “Dragon’s Mirage. I end my turn.” As he does so, he Summons 4 Dragons from his Deck, powerful new Hieratic Dragons, equal to the number of his old Dragons were destroyed; Hieratic Seal, Dragon Core Hexer, Hiertic Dragon of Su, but their ATK and DEF are halved.

HANNIBAL’S TURN: He is none too happy, for Matthew already swarmed the field! “I switch all my monsters to Defense Position and set 2 facedown cards.” His turn over, his opponent’s Continuous Trap, Dragonic Desperation, fades away per its effect.

Matthew snorts at this move, “You are a coward, Hannibal, you could have killed my weak Dragons. Are you scared of my Trap? Now I realize the morals you taught me are as useless and cowardly as you are.”

Matthew snorts at this move, “You are a coward, Hannibal, you could have killed my weak Dragons. Are you scared of my Trap? Now I realize the morals you taught me are as useless and cowardly as you are.”

MATTHEW’S TURN: “Let’s get this Duel really started, shall we?”

“I agree.” Hannibal shoots back, “Dimension Barrier, and I call Link monsters! There will be no Ultimaya Tzolkin combo on my watch.”

“Then I will rely on something else. I tribute Hieratic Dragon of Su to Summon Tongue Twister and use Su’s effect to destroy your facedown.” His blue dragon shattered, reforming into a giant ugly red-shape field, then Hannibal’s card is destroyed. However, Hannibal does benefit as he Summons Artifact Caduceus, an enchanted staff, to his field.

Matthew says, “You better watch this, Maya; see your own tactics used, as they should be, to truly destroy another human being! I overlay Hieratic Seal and Dragon Core Hexer to Xyz Summon Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon, then continue my overlay with Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon, then Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon!” His dragons fell into the overlay network wormhole, giving rise to a mighty interstellar dragon only for it to give rise to a new one, and then another new one. “I activate two of its effects. I mill 3 Dragons to my Graveyard, you banish 3 monsters, and I detach 1 Material to let it attack twice!”

Maya reflects on Matthew’s strategy from the sidelines. If Matthew uses her own ruthless moves, then she will face a mirror of herself in battle. If that is so, then it is another reason for her to grow beyond her past, beyond her limits.

Hannibal reminds Matthew he made a mistake; he did not activate Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor’s effect to pop an Artifact, to which Matthew response, “Of course not you idiot! As long as you have a full field you will struggle to kick your combos off, and I want to trample you down before you do that. I activate Dragon’s Rage so I can do piercing damage! Now, Dark Matter Dragon, destroy Artifact Caduceus and Traptrix Mymeleo!” The huge black dragon beats its wings, two black gales cut through Hannibal’s cards as knives, and push Hannibal staggering back. (Hannibal LP 8000 à 5200)

“Clever,” The old man admits. “But not enough to beat me. I Summon Artifact Vajra from my hand and with his appearance my entire back row is destroyed.” A magical vaijra manifests a blue spirit to wield it and shatters Hannibal’s cards with lightning bolts, which only brings out more Artifacts. “I activate Artifact Sanctum and my second Artifact Moralltach in my Graveyard; you’re attackers are destroyed!” A new Artifact emerges from the dusty Graveyard, and Matthew’s aggressing fiend and dragon burst into flames.

HANNIBAL’S TURN: “Brace yourself Matthew! I will put an end to your ways! I link 2 Moralltach and 1 Scythe to Link Summon Artifact Uraniawar, then overlay Vaijra and Beagalltach to Xyz Summon Shark Fortress!” Three of Hannibal’s Artifacts fall into three arrows on the edges of a square portal, lighting them, allowing a new Artifact a be Summoned; a rocket-like missile manifesting a black spirit to carry it. The two remaining Artifact’s fall into an overlay network, letting shark-shaped submarine to cross to the other side.

Stella grabs Maya, points at Hannibal’s new Artifact, “Is that nuke?”

Maya answers, “Yes. Uranium is the antique weapon of our times.”

“Wow, that is… profound. Who knew Pegasus cared so much about the future of the human race.”

“He is the sensitive artist type, after all.”

Banter aside, Hannibal announced, “Preparations are complete, Matthew. The rash man only blunders. Now I am ready to attack!”

“You only attack when you’re certain you won’t be challenged. Are you moderate, or mediocre?”

“I detach 1 Material from Shark Fortress, now attack Matthew directly twice!” His submarine strikes Matthew with two torpedoes, blasting his opponent’s Life away. (Matthew LP 8000 à 3400) Hannibal is just about to cripple Matthew for good but he pauses midway in declaring his attack.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Season 3 of my series (Season 8 of Yugioh), where I will write things differently than before and in a better style. A typical chapter from now on will be five pages at most to have more content in each chapter and spent less time writing, since I dislike the style authors use to write most novels and I simply don’t have the free time now as I did before. I like how less verbal artforms like film, paintings, and games work since they use symbols and actions to give you substance rather than telling everything up front or through tedious dialogue between characters. I hope to translate my ideas in a similar war albeit through writing. I’m trying to explore different ways of writing and conveying more serious ideas so forgive me for being pretentious.

Prologue

She woke in a sudden moment, in her sleeping bag on the airport floor, not from any nightmare that frightened her out of her sleep but from something she did not understand yet. Her sleep, deep and dreamless, was the coma of a person who, after a day of immense suffering and fatigue, falls into for what seems like countless hours, as the infinite sleep a person falls into as she dies or the infinite sleep before birth. A second ago she was not and now at this moment she was. She sat up, hot and sweating from the heat of the sleeping bag and in constant pain from her bruises, burns, and broken ribs; she forgot at all who she was or what happened, and looked around the airport for answers, to piece her shattered self back together, as Atem the lost pharaoh did when recovering his long buried memories.

Nature gave her body of strong build of average height, her powerful hands wide, her fingers long, her nails large. Her face reflected the person behind it: a broad forehead, full cheeks and lips, dark brown eyes as vessels for a burning, fiery light, her skin brown and red, and her hair a lion’s mane of black curly hair. She was Marina Bozuslowsky, daughter of Aleksandar Bozuslowsky and Arifa Masri, but she long shortened her name to Maya Brook. She started dueling as a professional at the age of seventeen, joined her friends JC, Yukio, and Jolene to become national champions and defeat the snobbish rich demagogue Matthew, remained a pro for four more years, entered this world championship tournament to somehow stop the now late Egyptian dictator Heishin and claim the forbidden ancient Book of Isis, and now waited for the tournament finals having succeeded doing both. And she liked playing the piano, writing satires, communism, alternative subcultures, and black cats. “I think I got it about right.” She said to her heart.

Maya hobbled her way to a large pane of class, her breathing aggravated by the broken ribs, to see the outside world. Never before had she seen a sunnier, prettier June morning, nor did she feel a sun comfort her through her black sleeveless shirt and jeans quite like this either. But she did feel a deepening darkness despite it all, a gathering pressure, an electric static before the storm. Too many people died in this tournament from the resurging Ghouls, too many secrets revealed from Mathias and his warrior Saints, and she underwent too much struggle and loss already.

Yet all this struggle, sacrifice, revelation, was merely the tip of the iceberg, the darkness that was to come. Ra-Amun, the sun, shattered the world through his divine powers into stark bright lights and black shadows, a contrast where all stood revealed. It would be high noon; each finalist would smash against the other with everything they had, everything they were in these last duels, and only one person would stand on top. Maya’s whole life was at stake for if she won she would pay off her many dueling and college debts but if she lost she would be in ruin. More importantly, she knew her innovative dueling would not keep her ahead of her competition forever, and she needed to push herself further not just to stay in the game but reach a new creative level. All life was art and war, darkness and heroism. If music taught her anything it was these principles from Beethoven, and the Eroica the finest lesson. Let this heroic journey reach fulfillment at last.

——————————————————————————–

Pegasus J. Crawford, the man who created Yugioh itself, put himself deep in thought as he quietly sipped his wine in the small dining room of the complex that would be the lodgings for all eight finalists. He went so far as to design each room to reflect the true nature of each respective finalist, putting his great skills as a painter to use, whereby the carpenters, electricians, and plumbers followed his exacting instructions. The dining room, the hub each apartment revolved around, held eight large mirrors that reflected off each other face, creating a prism of infinite refractions within each mirror. Pegasus saw his own self in one mirror; his dandy red business suit, his tall stature, broad shoulders, long fair hair, one brown eye, shattered into shapes he could barely recognize.

Such was the true nature of humankind, where there was no one person in each body but only a labyrinth no Theseus could ever escape. What of the Minotaur at the center? Pegasus amused himself with the idea of seeing it revealed by the finalists playing his very game. The high priests of Egypt extracted Ka monsters from people’s souls and used them in battle for this very purpose; it was one reason Pegasus created this game in the first place. The Millennium Items, magic artifacts smelted from gold and the bodies of ninety-nine sacrifices, used by the high priests for such purposes, were lost, but the Book of Isis, holding one spell used to create the Millennium Items – merely one spell of the many mysteries – was still at large. The evil person who used the Book would cause untold catastrophes, which Pegasus wanted to avoid at every cost. He instinctively reached for his left eye socket but did not find the Millennium Eye he used to have within. He could no longer use its divine powers to see further than mortal eyes could. Now he was just a man and could only use his human powers.

Pegasus left the complex behind with such melancholy thoughts in mind, trotting on the soft sandy ground of the small Pacific Island where the finalists would be held. The warm light, blue sky, and fresh sea did not comfort him but only worsened his mood, the setting sun cut through everything with its harsh light. He thought of Sophia, one of his favorite adopted children and protégés, locked in the dangerous tournament, and hoped she would come out in one piece. Using a refined wooden cane, the debonair Pegasus showed his grit as he slowly climbed his way up a rocky hill and the massive pyramid at the center of the island he built alongside his colleague Kaiba, the battleground every duel would take place, laboring his way to the very top.

Seto Kaiba, the mighty technocrat who singlehandedly drove Yugioh in its modern form with his massive wealth and brilliant inventions, stood tall with his shoulders crossed as a bronze memorial statue, glaring down the pyramid to the white sand, green trees, and blue waves beneath him. Let this tower engrave in history the supreme achievement of the tournament’s winner and prophesize the great events of the future, the imperious Kaiba thought. Here, in this very tower he built, let history be made! He thought back to the first Battle City tournament he hosted thirteen odd years ago, how he also hosted the finals on top of a mighty tower, and watched history form as Atem became the first official world champion. Now he would witness something just as grand in the thirteenth Battle City as the Yugioh game would evolve to an ever higher level.

Pegasus, who finally reached the top, cut Kaiba’s lofty thoughts, “Whew! We should have made a smaller pyramid, Kaiba-boy. I think we made our point.” He patted his damp face with a silk handkerchief before stowing it away in his suit. Kaiba turned his piercing blue eyes to glare at contempt at the annoying man who cut his thoughts with such a frivolous remark. The two men could not have been more different. The gay, effete Pegasus contrasted the severe Kaiba, who had tall and with broad shoulders as Pegasus, yet wirier, donning his battle armor; a black leather body glove with a long white trench coat. He wore this same uniform at the first Battle City and wore it now even though he would not duel. He had a far greater plan, to defeat the very champion of this tournament to take the title of King of Games for himself. Why waste his time in an entire tournament when he would make it to the finals anyway? “Speak! Why are you here?” He demanded at Pegasus.

The debonair man sighed in a knowing way, “Very well, my Wagnerian Ubermensch. I would like to just share the beautiful view with you but, as such simple joys are far beneath the higher man such as yourself, I will get to the point. Beware of the Book of Isis and the people who seek it. It is owned by a finalist, it calls out to me, knowing I once held a Millennium Item. The Ghouls have been thwarted but one dangerous man remains, Matthew Carter. He will enter the finals to claim the Book for himself and avenge his grandfather’s demise, but even if he fails Gernand remains as well as a dark shadow, an evil intelligence I know little about. They are not threats right now but they will be.”

“First of all,” Kaiba scoffed at Pegasus, “The Ubermensch derives from Nietzsche you illiterate old fool. Second, I couldn’t care less about any occult threats lurking under whatever rock they choose to hide in. My tournament is about the future, not the dusty ancient past. You would do well to remember that.”

Pegasus rebounded, “You call me an old fool but look at yourself! You sound exactly like you did thirteen years ago, right down to the ‘I focus on the future’ spiel. You carry the obsessions and grudges you held for literally over a decade. Imagine how bad they would smell if they were food. You are, dare I say, an Ubermensch parody, more like Siegfried than Dionysus. It was this thing called satire. You know, a joke?”

“Jokes are for happy-go-lucky, shallow types who cannot stand the darker sides of life.” Kaiba growled. “Do you want me to destroy you before the finals even take place?”

“I must disagree, Kaiba-boy. Humor let’s us see the extra dimension in our lives as tragic creatures we would otherwise never see and transcend them, and this includes the so-called darker sides of life as well. Only man lives in such horror he needed to invent laughter. You are a tyrant but will never be an artist while I will always be both, and only this type of person can win this tournament.” Pegasus did not budge and inch throughout their entire discussion and, seeing Kaiba’s mild surprise, said, “Yes, who would have thought little old me who created Yugioh in the first place would know so much. You’re constipated character is why you always failed to beat Yugi and why generic antihero rival characters always fail.”

Kaiba became so frigid the very warm air around them dampened. “You’re meaningless foppish words did not move me an inch.” But Pegasus knew it wasn’t true. He had a special talent in annoying Kaiba and nothing amused him more than seeing Kaiba overreact, like watching Donald Duck get mad in a Disney cartoon. Kaiba punched a code on his duel disk, a newer sleeker model that outdated even the new models the finalists had used up to this point, the machine projected a holograph roster of all eight finalists, which Kaiba read out loud.

Matthew Carter
Heir to the Carter Foundation. Twenty-two years old. Has not dueled in a tournament since he lost the nationals in 2005. Dominates the opponent with powerhouse monsters overriding effects, favors Lightsworn and Horus.

Mathias Blackheart
Leader of the Saints, a team of professional duelists based in Ireland. Age unknown. Uses psychological warfare. Favors Nordic Gods and Horus. Teammates are Maximus and Ivy.

Maria Wight
Best duelist of Team A Cappella. Based in the UK. Twenty-three years old. Wins through card control by controlling resources. Uses Normal Pendulum monsters.

Svanhildur “Stella Nova” Minervadottir
Leader of Team Stratosphere. Based in Iceland. Twenty-three years old. Specializes in controlling the field with floater monsters. Favors Yang Zing. Notable teammate is Willow.

Marina “Maya Brook” Bozuslowsky
Best duelist of Team Baby Blast Furnace. Based in Iceland. Twenty-two years old. Used a variety of strategies in her career, now swarms the field to create many high level Extra Deck monsters. Favors banishing cards. Teammates are Yukio and Sophia.

Hannibal Davidson
World-renowned archaeologist and classical scholar. Based in Athens. Thirty-one years old. Uses strategies that spring during the opponent’s turn. Favors Artifacts.

Tamas Varga
Leader of Team Impossible. Based in Hungary. Twenty-eight years old. Uses beatdown. Favors all Dragon-Types. Teammates are Bence and Beze.

Weevil Underwood
Leader of Team Loser Dog. Based in Japan. Twenty-six years old. Uses strategies that slowly weaken the opponent’s monsters and bind the duelist in a lock. Favors all Insect-Types (obviously). Teammates with Rex Raptor.

“Kaiba! Weevil may be a loser but you must at least pretend he is noteworthy. He did survive the tournament after all. He has just as much right to the finals as everyone else.” Pegasus admonished his colleague.

Kaiba scoffed at the mere idea then left in a huff, leaving Pegasus alone to appreciate the view on top of the pyramid. The Egyptians thought the pyramid likened to the rays of the sun and thus paved a stairway to the Underworld. Well, Overworld if you think about it, Pegasus joked to himself. So, which finalist would make it to the top and reach the Heaven of being forever remembered in history? Did it even matter? Well, it certainly did, at least for Pegasus’ entertainment and Kaiba’s vainglory.

In a dream I saw the fate of the whole human race. 3 billion years from now we are all in the program of a giant supercomputer. At this point humans have long lost flesh and blood bodies. Now they all live in a virtual world, which is a hyper dimension of sorts that encompasses all human states and all areas of human history.

Even this is an understatement as each human in the program is a superhuman that transcends our human understanding. They can create their own dimensions and worlds. Some of these superhumans live alone, pleasuring themselves. Some live as partners or small groups. Others live in whole societies. And they know about each other and can contact each other instantly. They do whatever they like.

Several gods or overlords supervise all dimensions and the supercomputer that runs them all. I notice a woman among them. In this dream she was very dear to me and I saw her many times in many episodes of the dream. She eventually became one of the gods of the supercomputer. And I wonder if I was in the supercomputer throughout the entire dream. Am I in a supercomputer while awake too?

The supercomputer is not their master but it does rule them in a sense. The gods must keep creating better programs in order to sustain the supercomputer and all human beings. If they can’t, the system will crash. Each time the gods create a better program the more it takes the run it, the more difficult it will be to create a better program, and the less time they will have to do so. We humans keep accelerating. This is the dangerous end result.

The computer gives the gods 8.0000037148923654189 seconds create a better program to sustain it and all human beings. The gods can’t and panic. The computer, unable to maintain the gods and all the other human beings deletes them all instantly. Unable to maintain itself, the computer crashes and dies. The entire process takes about 10 seconds. This is the end of our species.